Variable image data reduction system and method

ABSTRACT

Variable image data reduction is applied to at least a subset of each frame of a video file. The variable image data reduction includes reducing data by one or more techniques, such as compression, decimation, distortion, and so forth, across the frame by a different degree or amount based on a viewing location of the user. Thus, the amount of data sent to an encoder for delivery to a client device (e.g., head mounted display (HMD) or other computing device) is lowered by prioritizing image quality for the viewing location of the user while one or more data reducing techniques are applied to the remainder of the frame.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/425,604, filed Nov. 22, 2016, U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/428,392, filed Nov. 30, 2016, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/428,399, filed Nov. 30, 2016, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filed Nov. 22, 2017 titled Analytic Reprocessing for Data Stream System and Method and U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filed Nov. 22, 2017 titled System and Method for Data Reduction Based on Scene Content, which are all incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

This disclosure relates generally to image preprocessing, and more specifically to preparing a video file for consumption on a virtual reality headset.

Virtual reality headsets simulate environments by providing video for a large field of view (e.g., 180 to 360 degrees). An image capture rig includes multiple cameras each capturing a different portion of a scene. These sources images capture the same moment while each capturing a different portion of the scene that partially overlaps with the field of view of at least one of the other source images. The source images are then stitched together to create a master plate for a frame that covers the large field of view captured by the cameras of the image capture rig. The compilation of each master plate forms a master file for the virtual reality video file. The video file then goes through a number of transformations and other processing steps to prepare the video file for encoding and eventually consumption by a user on a virtual reality headset.

SUMMARY

Variable image data reduction is applied to at least a subset of each frame of a video file. The variable image data reduction includes reducing data by one or more techniques, such as compression, decimation, distortion, and so forth, across the frame by a different degree or amount based on a viewing location of the user. Thus, the amount of data sent to an encoder for delivery to a client device (e.g., head mounted display (HMD) or other computing device) is lowered by prioritizing image quality for the viewing location of the user while one or more data reducing techniques are applied to the remainder of the frame.

In one embodiment, variable image data reduction includes segmenting each frame into multiple tiles and reducing the data of each tile based on a respective tile's location relative to the viewing location. Alternatively, the variable image data reduction can be applied based on distance from the viewing location independently of the tiles. The variable image data reduction includes linear or non-linear decimation of tiles that can be applied in a horizontal direction from the viewing location, a vertical direction, or both (e.g., radially). Further, the variable image data reduction can be applied to different colors in a color space and high frequency textures for which the human eye is less sensitive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an example system in which audio and video content is prepared for consumption in a head mounted display (HMD) or other computing device, in accordance with at least one embodiment.

FIG. 2 shows an example production system, in accordance with at least one embodiment.

FIG. 3 shows a process for variable image reduction using tile segmentation, according to an embodiment.

FIGS. 4A-4B show an example tile segmentation method for one implementation of variable image data reduction, in accordance with at least one embodiment.

FIG. 5 shows another process for variable image reduction using guard bands, in accordance with at least one embodiment.

FIG. 6A-6B show additional examples of variable image data reduction, in accordance with at least one embodiment.

FIG. 7 shows another example of variable image data reduction, in accordance with at least one embodiment.

The figures depict embodiments of the present disclosure for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles, or benefits touted, of the disclosure described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION System Overview

FIG. 1 shows system 100 in which audio and video content is prepared for consumption in head mounted display (HMD) or other computing device. In this example, system 100 includes image capture rig 110, production system 120, and HMD 130. While FIG. 1 shows a single image capture rig 110, a single production system 120, and a single HMD 130, in other embodiments, any number of these components may be included in the system and, in alternative configurations, different and/or additional components may also be included in system 100. For example, there may be multiple HMDs 130 each having an associated console, input interface, and being monitored by one or more imaging devices.

Image capture rig 110 includes one or more cameras with either a wide field of view (FOV) or each having overlapping field of views (FOVs) relative to other cameras in a rig. In this example, FIG. 1 shows image capture rig 110 with multiple cameras 112. Each camera 112 is mounted in image capture rig 110 to capture individual images of a different FOV that overlaps with the fields of view of adjacent cameras 112. The individual images are subsequently stitched together based on their overlapping fields of view to cover a wide FOV (e.g., 180° to 360°) that is larger than any one camera 112. Image capture rig 110 can alternatively be a single wide angle camera built specifically for virtual reality (VR) and/or augmented reality (AR) applications that is capable of capturing images at a wide FOV. Accordingly, image capture rig 110 captures images in a sequence (e.g., frames of video) via cameras 112 and provides the images to production system 120.

Production system 120 obtains the images captured via cameras 112 from image capture rig 110 and prepares the video file for delivery to HMD 130 (and subsequent consumption by a user of HMD 130). Production system 120 includes production and post-processing module 122, stream preparation module 124, streaming module 126, and data store 128. Production and post-processing module 122 stitches images obtained from image capture rig 110 to create a master negative for each frame of a master video file that covers the wide FOV from a combination of cameras 112 of image capture rig 110. Thus, the master negative is produced by stitching multiple videos and eliminating distortion and aberrations, which results in a high resolution, multi-camera captured, stitched file of 10-20k+ horizontal resolution. Stream preparation module 124 prepares the master video file for delivery through one or more streaming protocols to HMD 130. Since decoding of the master video file requires a particular size and data rate, the master video file is converted into a format best suited to HMD 130 (e.g., resolution of the headset, video decode performance of the headset, etc.) and transmission speed of the network between production system 120 (or whatever system eventually steams the master file) and HMD 130. Streaming module 126 iteratively engages HMD 130 with a machine learning process to deliver the master video file to HMD 130. Data store 128 stores the master video file and the various format specifications and requirements for delivering the master video file to HMD 130, other HMDs, and/or other computing devices. Production and post-processing module 122, stream preparation module 124, and streaming module 126 will be further described with respect to FIG. 2.

HMD 130 presents virtual and/or augmented reality content to a user. Example content includes images, video, audio, or some combination thereof. During content playback, HMD 130 may manage buffering of each chunk of frames, caching resources locally to cover the FOV determined via positional tracking. Audio content may be presented via a separate device (e.g., speakers and/or headphones) external to HMD 130 that receives audio information from HMD 130, a console associated with HMD 130, or both. HMD 130 includes communications module 132, stream decode module 134, display module 136, and analytic data module 138. HMD 130 may include fewer or more modules than those shown in FIG. 1.

Communications module 132 establishes a communication channel with production system 120 by sending a request for content and then receives the content production system 120. Communication module 132 may send multiple inputs requests based on the expected head motion and playback time in order to receive the correct content for the user's viewing location.

Stream decode module 134 receives the content via communications module 132 from production system 120 (or one or more remote servers associated with production system 120) and decodes the video, audio, subtitle data for each frame from a data stream. The content decoded by stream decode module 134 may also include a displacement map or a depth map for the content, stereo information, and auxiliary information for user interaction. Further, since content for the right eye in stereo is only slightly different than the content for the left eye, difference or displacement information or data can be provided for each frame of content. Thus, from image data for a single perspective, the two perspectives required for stereo imagining can be generated using the image data for the single perspective with the difference or displacement data.

Display module 136 manages operation of an electronic display screen that presents the content (e.g., visual information) of the master video file decoded by stream decode module 134. The electronic display screen may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, and so forth. Further, display module 136 may optionally apply sharpening and/or a color transform of the content that is particular to the specifications of HMD 130 before presenting the content to the user.

Analytic data module 138 iteratively engages production system 120 with a machine learning process to facilitate the delivery and correct specification of the master video file to HMD 130. In one embodiment, at the time of playback and for each frame, analytic data module 138 caches and sends analytical data to production system 120 about the position of HMD 130, the motion during the playback of each frame, a gaze direction of the user as supplied by eye-tracking system. The data rate of analytic data provided to production system 120, in one embodiment matches the temporal resolution of the tracking accuracy of HMD 130 (e.g., every 1/60th of a second provides a position and vector of motion). This analytic stream will be captured and transmitted back to production system 120 for analysis.

Initially, for new master video files, production system 120 does not possess information for where in a scene users tend to look or what objects tend to dominate the gaze direction, viewing location, or attention of users. Thus, analytic data module 138 may additionally track the motion and directional view of the users, aggregate this data for all users to determine where in the FOV or scene user's tend to look, and re-encode the data stream of the master video file to prioritize providing locations in the FOV in relatively high quality during content delivery. In one embodiment, the result is a new set of output tiles and/or playlist driven by aggregate the viewing habits of users for any piece of content.

FIG. 2 shows production system 120 including production and post-processing module 122, stream preparation module 124, and streaming module 126. The following description of production system 120 describes modules, components, techniques, and other processes of a mono processing embodiment for processing content (e.g., virtual reality content, augmented reality content). Thus, there is no stereo imagery in the origination of the content (e.g., images captured by image capture rig 110) and the view in the right and left eye of HMD 130 are the same. For stereo content, each of the following steps can be performed in parallel while separately taking into account that the left and right frames in the stereo pair are processed in parallel for representing the same temporal moment with a slight offset of viewing angle. A disparity map could be further packaged as data for each frame and sent to HMD 130 with the content as part of the stream.

Production and Post-Processing

Production and post-processing module 122 stitches images obtained from image capture rig 110 and performs a series of other processing techniques to create a master negative for each frame of the master video file. Production and post-processing module 122, in one embodiment, includes image stitching module 202, color adjustment module 204, a noise reduction module 206, and a content insertion module 207, as shown in FIG. 2.

In alternate embodiments, more or fewer modules and functions may be included in the Production and post-processing module 122. For example, modules to perform special effects, vector graphics, animations, or other production or post-processing effects that may be configurable by the end user.

Stitching module 202 receives images corresponding to frames of a video file captured by image capture rig 112. The images are received in multiple input video streams (e.g., 2 to n input video streams) each corresponding to a different camera 112 of image capture rig 110. As described above, each camera has a different FOV relative to other cameras 112 and the FOV of adjacent cameras 112 partially overlapped to allow for image registration based on the overlapping regions. Stitching module 202, thus, determines an appropriate mathematical model relating pixel coordinates in one image to corresponding pixel coordinates in another adjacent image to align the images. Since cameras 112 are fixed in image capture rig 110 relative to each other, the mathematical model relating pixel coordinates is often predetermined or known before the images are captured. Accordingly, stitching module 202 produces a stitched negative for each frame of the video file covering a wide FOV (e.g., 180° to 360°).

Color adjustment module 204 adjusts the color and other properties of the stitched negative. The images obtained from image capture rig 110 are initially in a raw (i.e., flat or log gamma) format corresponding to the native color space of cameras 112 and (after the images are stitched together) the stitched negative is processed or converted to a standard color space for video processing (e.g., Rec 709, DCI P3, Rec 2020, etc.) depending on device intention and processing. Color adjustment could alternatively be performed prior to image stitching or other processes discussed herein as well. Further, the stitched negative could be gamma converted to linear color space appropriate for downstream effects and compositing. Color adjustment module 204 also performs color correction to enhance the contrast, shift the white balance, provide creative looks to better match a creative intent, and/or add glows or local contrast to change the mood of a master video file.

Noise Reduction module 206 applies spatial and/or temporal noise reduction filters that remove noise. For example, noise can be based on heuristics that first determine a noise level and then applies a frequency based noise reduction to each frame (i.e., stitched negative) based on spatial noise characteristic and temporal motion across multiple frames (e.g., 3 frames).

Accordingly, production and post-processing module 122 stitches images obtained from image capture rig 110 to create a single video file from each input stream and performs a series of processing techniques to create the master video file for viewing by a user via HMD 130. The master video file is then further formatted based on the device type of HMD 130 and other requirements and constraints associated with streaming the master video file to HMD 130, as discussed below with respect to stream preparation module 124.

Stream Preparation

Stream preparation module 124 prepares the master video file for delivery through one or more streaming protocols to HMD 130 based on HMD 130 device type and other constraints associated with streaming the master video file to HMD 130. Stream preparation module 124, in one embodiment, includes format conversion module 208, data reduction module 210, and encoding module 212, as shown in FIG. 2.

Format conversion module 208, in one embodiment, resizes each frame of the master video file and adjusts the format of each frame of the master video file to be compatible with one or more different HMD(s) 130. Thus, each frame of the master video file is resized to fit the final format of HMD 130, which may vary by device manufacture, operating system, video player, and so forth. For example, output could be as large as 16000×8000 pixels for higher-end devices, typically in an equi-rectangular format (e.g., twice the width as the height of the frame), and the format may be 3840×1920 for mobile applications. Production system 120 can support the resizing of frames in arbitrary size and formats with varying resampling filters including bilinear, bi-cubic and elliptically weighted averaging (EWA).

Further, based on the output device, the master video file is converted into a format suitable for encoding module 212 and stream decoding module of HMD 130. Accordingly, the master video file may start in an equi-rectangular format (e.g., a horizontal length containing 360 degrees of horizontal pixel data and a vertical length containing 180 degrees of vertical pixel data) and be converted to other formats using standard warping and tiling arrangement, such as a 6-sided cube map or a cube arrangement. The cube arrangement may be passed in the other packing formats as well that including cubic, spherical, tiled pyramids, and so forth.

Standard distortion maps may be extended to include alternate packing methods that are more appropriate for encoding module 212 of the pixel data or the FOV of the master. Other distortion maps could include an unrolled cylinder for a subset of each frame of the master video file. For example, the subset of each frame could include just the middle 120 degrees of the FOV band and small squares describing the pixel data for the top and bottom of the remaining FOV. Other shapes could be set such as a pyramid with four sides and a bottom, or more exotic shapes such as hexagonal pyramids or hexagonal spheres.

Data reduction module 210 applies one or more data reduction techniques or processes to the master video file to reduce the amount of data streamed to HMD 130 while prioritizing the quality of content of the master video file based on the user's viewing location, such that the user perceives no reduction in image quality. In one embodiment, stream determination module 216 processes the master video file into a series of tiles that cover the FOV of HMD 130 using a cropping function. For example, the master video file can be cropped into eight tiles (e.g., four vertical and two horizontal slices) to cover the full FOV of each frame of the master video file. The tiles can be defined by the FOV of HMD 130 including a band of extra area (referred to as a guard band) that includes an overlapping portion of adjacent tiles, which results in fewer tiles with more coverage of the full master image.

Further, data reduction module 210 can reduce the image quality of one or more tiles by selectively blurring or averaging of pixels to reduce image detail in areas that the user will likely not be as sensitive to in order to increase compression efficiency for encoding. For example, the image quality of one or more tiles can be reduced by blurring or averaging pixels associated with an expected edge of the FOV. The selective blurring could be defined by the lens characteristics of HMD 130 to define a default area to be smoothed.

To further lower the amount of data sent to encoding module 212, data reduction module 210, in one embodiment, processes the master video file into tiles and compresses the tiles as a function of position relative to a center tile. The center tile, in this embodiment, corresponds to either a determined or predicted viewing location of the user wearing HMD 130 that will change as the user moves their head and/or eyes to view additional content of the master video file. The center tile will also likely be located at the center of the display of the HMD. The center tile may not be compressed at all (or slightly depending on network bandwidth and HMD 130 capabilities) and the other tiles are decimated as a function of distance from the center tile. In this manner, the tile corresponding to the viewing location of the user is prioritized and provided in high quality, while tiles where the user isn't looking are compressed. Since the human eye requires time to adjust and would likely not be able to focus on an object with enough particularity having, for example, just turned their head, tiles other than the center tile are initially provided at a lower quality. Accordingly, when the user moves their head, the center tile is updated and the new center tile is provided at a high quality relative to the other tiles including a previous center tile, in this example.

Tile compression or decimation, in one embodiment, is variable and can be linear or non-linear in the horizontal and/or vertically direction. Compressing the tiles as a function of position relative to a center tile or viewing location of the user can be achieved by compressing the guard band areas through variable decimation of the pixels and a transfer function can describe this process. In one example, a linear transfer function could compress the guard bands by combining or averaging pixels in a linear ratio. For example, 4 or 8 or 10 pixels are filtered to 1 pixel. In another example, a non-linear function can be applied to decimate the guard band closest to FOV by a lower ratio, such as 2 to 1, while pixels at the outer horizontal edge could be compressed to a higher ratio up to 50 to 1. Further, a less linear process could also be applied to the compression of guard bands with a 2D map describing the ratio of compression between the current FOV inside an ellipse or irregular arbitrary shape and the outer rectangular shape matching the edge of a tile.

Further, since the human eye is also not as sensitive to certain color variations and textures, additional decimation for color space and based on a frequency analysis of the image can be applied. The image blurring could also take into account scene content so that less blurring is applied in areas of higher detail and more blurring is applied to areas of lower detail where the detail is separated by frequency of the scene content.

Accordingly, once the tiles are distorted into a final format, each tile is sent in the resized format to be packaged as a streaming video set. This process is used to prepare encoding module 212 for multiple resolutions depending on network bandwidth between production system 120 and HMD 130. Further, referring back to color adjustment module 204 described above, color adjustment module 204 may further process the color each tile that converts the color from the master color space of the master video file to the color space of HMD 130 or devices that cannot or do not use runtime color processing to match the input master color space to the display during playback.

In another embodiment, data reduction module 210 may replace some tiles entirely by a still image, a pixel map of a solid color (e.g., black) or by an arbitrary graphic. Temporal substitution may be defined for a few frames at a time, for an entire scene of similar content (e.g., a shot) or for the entire video clip. A heuristic determining the substitution of a single image over a number of tiles can be based on the content of a scene. For example, a video of a standup comedian where a spotlight is pointed at the comedian and the rest of the frame is essentially black. In this example, the entire frame other than the area covered by the spotlight could be replaced with a black background. The area of the spot light could be identified ahead of time by an author based on the editing of the content or determined automatically for some range of the horizontal section of the original.

Some tiles may also include important scene content or content that should be provided at a high quality. For example, this important scene content can include prominent faces, human or animal figures, known landmarks (e.g., Mt. Rushmore, etc.), and so forth. A scene content map that is either author-supplied (i.e., a map detailing important areas within a scene by the author or content publisher) or generated automatically through scene analysis could provide tile splitting based on these important details and the temporal changes of the scene content across the entire FOV of the frame. Other examples include a soccer player moving across a soccer field or a singer moving against a static background. Accordingly, the tile dimensions may, thus, be changed from frame to frame depending on the scene content and/or temporal characteristic of the content.

Encoding module 212 encodes the tiles of each frame of the master video file into a stand compression codec (e.g., H.264, H.265 MPEG, VP9, etc.) that aligns with the playback system of display module 136 of HMD 130. Other codecs may be targeted depending on the playback system and the prevailing standard for HMD 130. For example, tiles might be encoded in JPEG2000 format or Google VP9 standard based on client preference and/or system capability. Each tile size in the pyramid may be encoded in multiple quality levels to serve user-defined quality settings or to adjust for the available network bandwidth of HMD 130 (standard streaming encoding strategy). Further, for stereo content with a different frame for each eye, encoding module 212 could reduce the required information for encoding by creating a difference map between the right and left eye and encoding just the right eye and using a difference map to reconstruct the left during playback via stream decode module 134 on HMD 130.

Accordingly, once the master video file is appropriately encoded for video, the master video file can be split into chunks (e.g., approximately 0.125 to 2 sec corresponding to 10-60 frames at once) with the synchronized video, audio, subtitles, distortion map for the tiles, displacement or difference map for stereo reconstruction as well as stereo disparity map appropriate for each chunk ready for serving by streaming module 126.

Streaming

Streaming module 126, in one embodiment, communicates with HMD 130 to deliver the master video file to HMD 130. Streaming module 126, in one embodiment, includes communications module 214, stream determination module 216, and feedback module 218, as shown in FIG. 2. Streaming module 126 could be part of production system 120 or located remotely with one or more streaming servers.

Stream determination module 216, in one embodiment, determines the quality and/or what tiles of the one or more frames to provide HMD 130. Communication module 214 receives the multiple inputs and provides data associated with one or more of the multiple inputs to stream determination module 216. The inputs may include network bandwidth, the expected head motion or viewing location, and playback time, and so forth and stream determination module 216 determines what tiles to compress (e.g., decimate, blur, filter, etc.), as discussed above with respect to data reduction module 210. For example, based on the user's head and/or eye position(s) determined by one or more sensors in HMD 130, stream determination module 216 may define a center tile corresponding to where the user is looking (i.e., viewing location) within the content to prioritize the quality of the center tile to provide the content at a relatively high quality and, based on network bandwidth (and/or other considerations), determine a transfer function for compressing the tiles other than the center tile.

HMD 130 may manage buffering of each chunk of frames, caching resources locally that cover the FOV determined by positional tracking supplied by HMD 130, and then decoding the video data, audio data, subtitle data for each frame, displacement map, stereo information, and auxiliary information for user interaction and optionally applying sharpening, and a HMD color transform (if appropriate to the local device) before final display to the user. While presenting content, HMD 130 may additionally applying various techniques to hide the substitution of tiles by transitioning from one tile to another using, for example, a moving line describing the overlap (e.g., a wipe in video transition) or with a dissolve or fade between sources on HMD 130 to remove the differences in scene content between multiple streams while a user's head is in motion and while HMD 130 is receiving substitute frames to cover the current FOV.

Based on instructions from the content creator (e.g., embedded as metadata), the content insertion module 207 may switch in, add, or update content of the master video file with a new file package or content. The new content could, in one embodiment, be an advertisement or other message that comes into view via the master video file as the user is viewing the content of the master video file. Content insertion module 207 may achieve this by adding a file package to pre-created or filler content. For example, frames of the master video file may include template locations (e.g., blank billboards that can be seen in the background, product labels, designs on a T-shirt, etc.) and new content can be added into a template location from a stream based on information known about the user or by updating an advertisement created for a new season or campaign. The added content could also be triggered by a user interaction within the content of the master video file. The trigger may come from an input device of HMD 130 or hand-held device such as a wand, touch device, or gamepad. The new content may be composited into a tile and generated in real-time or during streaming from command instructions added by the content creator.

Further, while streaming, encoding module 212 may package new data streams that are dependent on user triggers. The new data streams are then inserted at playback time on HMD 130. The new data streams can be overlays that convey new data as part of the video experience shown by HMD 130 while packaged as auxiliary data by encoding module 212. The auxiliary data can, for example, be user interface elements, subtitles, or text annotation of specific scene content. This auxiliary data that may change depending on the player interaction or other data from the HMD.

Feedback module 218 receives content playback information from analytic data module 138 of HMD 130. As mentioned above, analytic data module 138 of HMD 130 iteratively engages production system 120 with a machine learning process to facilitate the delivery and correct specification of the master video file to HMD 130 and feedback module 218 stores these interactions for later analysis and analytic reprocessing, to determine where or at what within the content users are looking at, among other processes.

Variable Image Data Reduction Methods

FIG. 3 shows a process 300 for variable image reduction using tile segmentation, according to an embodiment. Variable image data reduction is applied to at least a subset of each frame of a video file. The variable image data reduction includes reducing data (e.g., by compression, decimation, distortion, etc.) across the frame by a different degree or amount based on the viewing location of the user (e.g., determined or predicted). Thus, the amount of data sent to encoding module 212 for delivery to HMD 130 is lowered by prioritizing image quality for the viewing location of the user while one or more data reducing techniques are applied to the remainder of the frame.

First, stream determination module 216 obtains 302 a video file for the virtual scene that includes frames of the virtual scene. FIG. 4A shows a negative 400 for a frame of a master video file. Negative 400 corresponds to a single frame of the master video file and therefore includes image data covering anywhere from 180° to 360°. Since HMD 130 can only display a subset of the image data included in negative 400 at any one time, FIG. 4A additionally shows field of view (FOV) 402 of HMD 130. Thus, a user wearing HMD 130 can look to the left or right to view additional image data. In this example, the vertical area included in negative 400 is limited to the height of FOV 402 and the horizontal area is limited to roughly 180°; however, negative 400 could cover anywhere from 180° to 360° to allow a user wearing HMD 130 to look in many directions and be presented with content of a virtual scene, as mentioned above.

In one embodiment, stream determination module 216 segments 304 the image data of negative 400 (and that of other frames of the master video file) into a series of tiles that cover the scene or content of negative 400 using, for example, a cropping function. Each tile corresponding to a different portion of FOV 402 and the center tile corresponding to a primary viewing location for the user. Segmenting 304 the image data allows production system 120 (or the remote servers associated with production system 120 providing the content) to prioritize tiles based on a viewing location of the user (either predicted based on scene content or viewing statistics or as determined using eye tracking or head tracking). Accordingly, FIG. 4B shows negative 400 segmented into six tiles. Thus, rather than sending all image data for negative 400 at one time, segmenting 304 the image data into tiles allows production system 120 to send data for center tile 410 first before sending data for tiles 414 a and 414 b, for example, which can increase data transmission efficiency while prioritizing the resolution of center tile 410. Thus, the tiles can be streamed as separate video files (e.g., MP4 files, etc.) and recomposed on HMD 130 to generate a virtual scene.

Further, data reduction module 210 reduces 306 the image quality of one or more tiles by selectively blurring or averaging of pixels in areas of negative 400 that the user will likely not be as sensitive to in order to further increase compression efficiency for encoding. Since center tile 410 corresponds to the viewing location of a user of HMD 130, for example, data reduction module 210 prioritizes the image quality of center tile 400 by providing pixels of center tile 410 at a higher proportion of available resolution. Accordingly, the quality of tiles 412 a and 12 b are then reduced 306 relative to center tile 410 and the quality of tiles 414 a and 414 b can be further reduced relative to tiles 412 a and 412 b to minimize the amount of data being sent to HMD 130 (or increase data efficiency). The tiles can be uniform in proportion or size, or vary in size in a non-linear fashion. The image quality of tiles 412 a, 412 b, 414 a, and 414 b can be reduced by blurring, averaging pixels, or by applying any other data reducing technique. Further, the selective blurring could be defined by the lens characteristics of HMD 130 to define a default area to be blurred, averaged, smoothed, and so forth.

Further, the data reduction across negative 400 can be variable (e.g., linear or non-linear) in the horizontal and/or vertically direction and the image quality of tiles can be reduced as a function of position relative to center tile 410 or the viewing location of the user. Accordingly, the video file is encoded 308 by encoding module 212 with the reduced image data and subsequently provided 310 to HMD 130 for viewing by the user. Thus, the amount of data sent to encoding module 212 for delivery to HMD 130 is lowered by prioritizing image quality for the viewing location of the user while one or more data reducing techniques are applied to the remainder of the frame.

In one embodiment, image quality reduction can be achieved by compressing the guard band areas of negative 400 through variable decimation of the pixels and a transfer function can describe this process. FIG. 5 shows another process for variable image reduction using guard bands, in accordance with at least one embodiment. As above, stream determination module 216 obtains 502 a video file for the virtual scene that includes frames of the virtual scene. In this embodiment, stream determination module 216 defines 504 guard bands of negative 400. The guard bands corresponds to an edge of negative 400 adjacent a middle portion of negative 400 that would be in the user's periphery vision and, hence, the image quality of these guard bands does not need to be provided at as high of a quality of the middle portion of the frame. Accordingly, data reduction module 210 reduces 506 the image quality of the guard bands by selectively blurring or averaging of pixels in the guard band areas of negative 400 since they corresponds to areas that the user will likely not be as sensitive to in order to further increase compression efficiency for encoding.

FIG. 6A shows negative 400 with vertical guard bands 602 and horizontal guard bands 604 where image quality of negative 400 has been reduced. In this example, the image quality reduction of vertical guard bands 602 and horizontal guard bands 604 is uniform or constant in the guard band areas. In one example, a linear transfer function could compress pixels of vertical guard bands 602 and horizontal guard bands 604 by combining or averaging pixels in a linear ratio. For example, 4 or 8 or 10 pixels could be filtered to 1 pixel for these areas of negative 400.

In another embodiment, data reduction module 210 applies a non-linear function to decimate the guard band closest to FOV by a lower ratio, such as 2 to 1, while pixels at the outer horizontal edge could be compressed to a higher ratio up to 50 to 1. FIG. 6B shows negative 400 with first vertical guard bands 608 and first horizontal guard bands 610 where the image quality has been reduced at a first rate or by a first degree and second vertical guard bands 612 and second horizontal guard bands 614 where the image quality has been reduced at a second rate or by a second degree. Thus, pixels farther away for a determined or predicted viewing location of the user within negative 400 are decimated or compressed more than pixels closer to the viewing location since these pixels are most likely in a user's peripheral vision that is not as sensitive to image detail. Any number of guard bands can be provided (e.g., 3, 4, 5, etc. vertical/horizontal guard bands) where the image quality within each guard band increases as a function of distance from the viewing location of the user. Further, the vertical guard bands can be associated or assigned a different data reduction function relative to the horizontal guard bands. For example, the vertical guard bands could be compressed more relative to the horizontal guard bands for a scene since a user looking down at the ground or up at the sky contains less interesting features relative to the user looking left or right in the scene. Accordingly, as above, the video file is encoded 508 by encoding module 212 with the reduced image data and subsequently provided 510 to HMD 130 for viewing by the user.

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment where data reduction module 210 reduces the image quality of negative 400 as a function of distance 706 from viewing location 702 of a user. Here, data reduction module 210 segments the image data of negative 400 into tiles corresponding to peripheral areas 704 of negative 400 based on viewing location 702 or a peripheral divide that defines a boundary between an area associated with viewing location 702 and peripheral areas 704. In either instance, the image quality of peripheral areas 704 is reduced as a function of distance 706, in this example. Here, viewing location 702 could be any shape (e.g., square, rectangle, circle, ellipse, etc.) or could correspond to the FOV of HMD 130. Further, a less linear process could also be applied to the compression of guard bands with a 2D map describing the ratio of compression between the current FOV inside an ellipse or irregular arbitrary shape and the outer rectangular shape matching the edge of a tile.

Further, since the human eye is not as sensitive to certain color variations, the different components or channels of a color space can be decimated or compressed across negative 400, as described above. For example, the human eye is much more sensitive to variations in luminance (Y) than to chrominance (UV) in the YUV color space and, as such, the UV component can be compressed or decimated to a greater degree or more relative the Y component in peripheral areas of negative 400. The data corresponding to Y may not be compressed at all while the data corresponding to UV is compressed or the data corresponding to Y is compressed, but not as much relative to how much the data corresponding to UV is compressed. Thus, data reduction module 210 can apply different functions to these different components based on their respective distance from the viewing location of the user, as variously described above.

Similarly, the human eye is not as sensitive to certain frequency variations or textures within a scene. Thus, data reduction module 210 can additionally compress or decimate areas of negative 400 based on a frequency analysis of textures within a particular scene. For example, high quality cameras can record and store high frequency information, such as the color variation among individual grains of the tiny stones that make up a concrete sidewalk. Since the human eye is not sensitive to this high frequency information, sending data for this information is unnecessary. Accordingly, the human eye's ability to decipher higher frequency textures decreases as a function of distance from the user's viewing location and, as such data reduction module 210 can further reduce the image quality by blurring or smoothing lower frequency textures at farther distances from the viewing location. The image blurring could also take into account scene content so that less blurring is applied in areas of higher detail and more blurring is applied to areas of lower detail where the detail is separated by frequency of the scene content. In one example, performing a frequency analysis of a scene includes comparing Gaussian filters to separate the scene content into a bucket or band of frequencies (e.g., high/medium/low) and variable compression, as variously described above with respect to FIGS. 3-7, can be applied to the different buckets or bands of frequencies.

Additional Configuration Information

Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or to “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments is included in at least one embodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” or “an embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

Some portions of the detailed description are presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are the means used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps (instructions) leading to a desired result. The steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical, magnetic or optical signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared and otherwise manipulated. It is convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like. Furthermore, it is also convenient at times, to refer to certain arrangements of steps requiring physical manipulations or transformation of physical quantities or representations of physical quantities as modules or code devices, without loss of generality.

However, all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the following discussion, it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizing terms such as “processing” or “computing” or “calculating” or “determining” or “displaying” or “determining” or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device (such as a specific computing machine), that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices.

Certain aspects of the embodiments include process steps and instructions described herein in the form of an algorithm. It should be noted that the process steps and instructions of the embodiments can be embodied in software, firmware or hardware, and when embodied in software, could be downloaded to reside on and be operated from different platforms used by a variety of operating systems. The embodiments can also be in a computer program product which can be executed on a computing system.

The embodiments also relate to an apparatus for performing the operations herein. This apparatus may be specially constructed for the purposes, e.g., a specific computer, or it may comprise a computer selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. Such a computer program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, such as, but is not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, magnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions, and each coupled to a computer system bus. Memory can include any of the above and/or other devices that can store information/data/programs and can be transient or non-transient medium, where a non-transient or non-transitory medium can include memory/storage that stores information for more than a minimal duration. Furthermore, the computers referred to in the specification may include a single processor or may be architectures employing multiple processor designs for increased computing capability.

The algorithms and displays presented herein are not inherently related to any particular computer or other apparatus. Various systems may also be used with programs in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specialized apparatus to perform the method steps. The structure for a variety of these systems will appear from the description herein. In addition, the embodiments are not described with reference to any particular programming language. It will be appreciated that a variety of programming languages may be used to implement the teachings of the embodiments as described herein, and any references herein to specific languages are provided for disclosure of enablement and best mode.

In addition, the language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter. Accordingly, the disclosure of the embodiments is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the embodiments, which is set forth in the claims.

While particular embodiments and applications have been illustrated and described herein, it is to be understood that the embodiments are not limited to the precise construction and components disclosed herein and that various modifications, changes, and variations may be made in the arrangement, operation, and details of the methods and apparatuses of the embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: obtaining a video file for a virtual scene, the video file including a plurality of frames of the virtual scene; segmenting each frame of the virtual scene into a plurality of tiles, the plurality of tiles including a center tile and at least one set of side tiles, each tile corresponding to a different portion of a field of view of a virtual reality headset and the center tile corresponding to a primary viewing location for a user; and reducing image data associated with the at least one set of side tiles of each frame of the virtual scene relative to the center tile based on the viewing location of the user using one or more data reducing techniques to prioritize image quality for the primary viewing location of the user, wherein an amount of the image data for the virtual scene sent to an encoder for delivery to a client device presenting the video file to the user is lowered by prioritizing the image quality of the primary viewing location.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the image data of the at least one set of side tiles is reduced as a function of horizontal distance from the center tile corresponding to the primary viewing location of the user.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: segmenting, for each of the at least one set of side tiles, a (YUV) color space of each frame of the video file in to a luminance (Y) component and a chrominance (UV) component; and reducing the image data associated with the chrominance (UV) component of each of the at least one set of side tiles for one or more frames of the video file relative to the luminance (Y) component to further lower the amount of the image data for the virtual scene being sent to the encoder for delivery to a client device.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of tiles is separately provided to the client device by the encoder and subsequently recomposed on the virtual reality headset to generate the virtual scene.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein reducing the image data associated with the at least one set of side tiles of each frame of the virtual scene relative to the center tile includes at least one of blurring or averaging pixels of the at least one set of side tiles in order to increase compression efficiency during encoding by the encoder and to minimize the amount of the image data being delivered to the client device.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the at least one of blurring or averaging pixels of the at least one set of side tiles is based on one or more characteristics of a lens of the client device, the one or more characteristics defining a default area within each frame to be at least one of blurred or averaged.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the primary viewing location for the user corresponds to a location within the frame of the virtual scene where a content provider intends to direct attention of the user.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the primary viewing location for the user corresponds to a gaze direction location within the frame of the virtual scene corresponding to where the user is looking within the virtual scene as determined by at least one of an eye tracking sensor or a head tracking sensor.
 9. A method comprising: obtaining a video file for a virtual scene, the video file including a plurality of frames of the virtual scene; reducing image data of horizontal guard bands located at a top portion and a bottom portion of each frame of the virtual scene relative to a middle portion of the frame, the middle portion of the frame corresponding to a primary viewing location of a user and the image data being reduced using one or more data reducing techniques to prioritize image quality for the primary viewing location of the user while minimizing an amount of the image data for the virtual scene being sent to an encoder for delivery to a client device presenting the video file to the user; encoding by the encoder, the video file with the reduced image data; and providing the encoded video file with the reduced image data to the client device of the user.
 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising: reducing the image data of second horizontal guard bands located between the horizontal guard bands and the middle portion of the frame, wherein the image data of the second horizontal guard bands is reduced less relative to the horizontal guard bands located at the top portion and the bottom portion of each frame, and wherein reducing the image data of the vertical guard bands further minimize the amount of the image data being sent to the encoder for delivery to the client device of the user.
 11. The method of claim 9, further comprising: reducing the image data of vertical guard bands located at a right end portion and a left end portion of each frame of the virtual scene relative to the middle portion of the frame, wherein reducing the image data of the vertical guard bands further minimize the amount of the image data being sent to the encoder for delivery to the client device of the user.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein reducing the image data includes at least one of blurring or averaging pixels of the horizontal guard bands in order to increase compression efficiency during encoding by the encoder and to minimize the amount of the image data being delivered to the client device.
 13. The method of claim 9, further comprising: segmenting, for each of the horizontal guard bands, a (YUV) color space of each frame of the video file in to a luminance (Y) component and a chrominance (UV) component; and reducing the image data associated with the chrominance (UV) component of each of the horizontal guard bands for one or more frames of the video file relative to the luminance (Y) component to further lower the amount of the image data for the virtual scene being sent to the encoder for delivery to a client device.
 14. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to: obtain a video file for a virtual scene, the video file including a plurality of frames of the virtual scene; segment each frame of the virtual scene into a plurality of tiles, the plurality of tiles including a center tile and at least one set of side tiles, each tile corresponding to a different portion of a field of view of a virtual reality headset and the center tile corresponding to a primary viewing location for a user; and reduce image data associated with the at least one set of side tiles of each frame of the virtual scene relative to the center tile based on the viewing location of the user using one or more data reducing techniques to prioritize image quality for the primary viewing location of the user, wherein an amount of the image data for the virtual scene sent to an encoder for delivery to a client device presenting the video file to the user is lowered by prioritizing the image quality of the primary viewing location.
 15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the image data of the at least one set of side tiles is reduced as a function of horizontal distance from the center tile corresponding to the primary viewing location of the user.
 16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein each of the plurality of tiles is separately provided to the client device by the encoder and subsequently recomposed on the virtual reality headset to generate the virtual scene.
 17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein reducing the image data associated with the at least one set of side tiles of each frame of the virtual scene relative to the center tile includes at least one of blurring or averaging pixels of the at least one set of side tiles in order to increase compression efficiency during encoding by the encoder and to minimize the amount of the image data being delivered to the client device.
 18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the at least one of blurring or averaging pixels of the at least one set of side tiles is based on one or more characteristics of a lens of the client device, the one or more characteristics defining a default area within each frame to be at least one of blurred or averaged.
 19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the primary viewing location for the user corresponds to a gaze direction location within the frame of the virtual scene corresponding to where the user is looking within the virtual scene as determined by at least one of an eye tracking sensor or a head tracking sensor.
 20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, further comprising instructions that, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to: segment, for each of the at least one set of side tiles, a (YUV) color space of each frame of the video file in to a luminance (Y) component and a chrominance (UV) component; and reduce the image data associated with the chrominance (UV) component of each of the at least one set of side tiles for one or more frames of the video file relative to the luminance (Y) component to further lower the amount of the image data for the virtual scene being sent to the encoder for delivery to a client device. 